At a time when most young ladies were dog-earing pages of Judy Blume books
and bemoaning their first pimples and crushes to their diaries, 11-year-old
Milla Jovovich was being photographed by celebrity shutterbug Richard Avedon
as one of Revlon's "Most Unforgettable Women in the World," and earning $3,500
for a day's work.

The only child of Russian former film star Galina Loginova and Yugoslav pediatrician
Borgi Jovovich, Milla spent her early childhood years being carted back and
forth between the Soviet Union and London, where her father completed his
medical studies. The family emigrated to the United States in 1980, when Milla
was 5, alighting in Sacramento, Ca. They soon relocated to Los Angeles, where
Milla enjoyed rounds of acting classes, days at the beach, and large numbers
of bong hits.

Backed by her mother-manager, the exotic young beauty pursued work as a child
actor and succeeded in landing a modeling contract with Prima at the age of
11. Photographer Avedon snapped her picture for a Mademoiselle cover, but
when the magazine discovered that the smoldering beauty was only 11, they
refused to run the photo. Avedon was so adamant that the shot be used that
he gave the magazine an ultimatum: run it, or risk permanently losing his
services. The end result of the tussle was that the tarted-up Miss Jovovich
became the youngest model ever to grace the cover of a fashion magazine. Casting
the original waif mold, she subsequently found herself being used as fodder
for the talk-show-friendly topic of prepubescent supermodels, as Christian
groups lamented the attendant associations of kiddie porn and rampant eating
disorders.

Milla used her minor celebrity status to branch out into acting opportunities,
and succeeded in landing a promising role in the film Two Moon Junction. At
15, the modeling vet won a nationwide casting call to star in the much-maligned
Return to the Blue Lagoon. Fueling unclean Nabokovian lust with her impish-vampish
look and nubile form, Milla carried on her tradition of appearing nude on
film with a minute part as Christian Slater's jilted girlfriend in Kuffs.
A secondary role as Mildred Harris in Chaplin, and a two-line part in Richard
Linklater's Dazed and Confused did little to hone her acting skills. Obviously,
it was time to try something new.

Having commanded both the catwalk and the silver screen, Milla set out to
conquer the pop music realm; 1994 witnessed the release of her first album,
The Divine Comedy. Informed by the pain she experienced as a child growing
up as a Russian emigrée in the Red-bashing Reagan era, the introspective,
European-folkish debut drew favorable reviews from critics and celebrities
alike—Winona Ryder and Beavis & Butt-Head loved it—and comparisons to the
angst-ridden poetic stylings of Kate Bush and Tori Amos. The 18-year-old had
become one of the few, the proud, the multi-hyphenated: a model-actress-singer-songwriter.

Until her appearance in The Fifth Element, Milla's cinematic offerings largely
disappointed. But, with this film, she seemed to finally find the perfect
role: sporting bright orange dreads with lemon roots and an absolutely fabulous
Ace bandage costume, Milla played a divine being-slash-warrior who helps Bruce
Willis battle an evil force. It was disclosed after the film's banner opening
weekend that she and director Besson had carried on a torrid affair during
filming. No wonder the director called her "the most talented person I've
ever worked with." Not surprisingly, they eventually married. The couple split
after two years of intercontinental wedded bliss, a period that coincided
with their collaboration on Besson's The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc,
in which Jovovich portrayed the enigmatic martyred maiden. She is collaborating
on her follow-up to The Divine Comedy with current beau John Frusciante, guitarist
for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

What professional frontier Milla Jovovich will tackle next remains to be
seen, but she does plan to head back into the studio to record a second album.
She sums up her artistic ambitions as follows: "I just want to make one really
good movie a year. And when I die, to know I was honest as an artist." Failing
that, there are always those lucrative fashion shoots and that high-profile
cosmetics deal with L'Oréal to fall back on.